Abstract
Background
Milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) and lactoferrin (LF) are human milk bioactive components demonstrated to support gastrointestinal (GI) and immune development. Significantly fewer diarrhea and respiratory-associated adverse events through 18 months of age were previously reported in healthy term infants fed a cow's milk-based infant formula with added source of bovine MFGM and bovine LF through 12 months of age.
Objectives
To compare microbiota and metabolite profiles in a subset of study participants.
Methods
Stool samples were collected at Baseline (10–14 days of age) and Day 120 (MFGM + LF: 26, Control: 33). Bacterial community profiling was performed via16S rRNA gene sequencing (Illumina MiSeq) and alpha and beta diversity were analyzed (QIIME 2). Differentially abundant taxa were determined using Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LefSE) and visualized (Metacoder). Untargeted stool metabolites were analyzed (HPLC/mass spectroscopy) and expressed as the fold-change between group means (Control: MFGM + LF ratio).
Results
Alpha diversity increased significantly in both groups from baseline to 4 months. Subtle group differences in beta diversity were demonstrated at 4 months (Jaccard distance; R2 = 0.01, P = 0.042). Specifically, Bacteroides uniformis and Bacteroides plebeius were more abundant in the MFGM + LF group at 4 months. Metabolite profile differences for MFGM + LF vs Control included: lower fecal medium chain fatty acids, deoxycarnitine, and glycochenodeoxycholate, and some higher fecal carbohydrates and steroids (P < 0.05). After applying multiple test correction, the differences in stool metabolomics were not significant.
Conclusions
Addition of bovine MFGM and LF in infant formula was associated with subtle differences in stool microbiome and metabolome by four months of age, including increased prevalence of Bacteroides species. Stool metabolite profiles may be consistent with altered microbial metabolism. Trial registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02274883).
Alpha and beta diversity of plants and animals along a tropical land-use gradient